Long Live EVDO Rev A!

If you've been concerned about your EVDO equipment and service becoming outdated as the 4G technologies we keep hearing about start making their debut, don't get too bent out of shape just yet. WiMAX, the technology that carriers like Sprint and Alltel will be using, may actually be on its way, but its competitor, LTE, is going to take MUCH longer to make its way to consumers.

LTE, which is the 4G broadband technology that Verizon (and others) have decided to hitch their 4G stars to, has been talked about as becoming available in the USA sometime around 2012, but industry experts are now speculating that it will be more like 2015 when it finally rolls out on a major scale.

Here is what wireless consultant Andrew Seybold had to say about the matter at his conference (which is being held in conjunction with the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment conference in San Francisco):

• There is no huge rush on the part of the carriers to provide 4G services
• LTE likely wont become available until 2015
• LTE download speeds of 71-143 Mbps are entirely theoretical and will be considerably slower when they are applied to the real world.
• Handset and chip-makers are pushing to get LTE out there, not carriers

Seybold failed to mention anything about how WiMAX will effect 3G technologies, though - which is unfortunate since that is the technology that is actually becoming available as we speak...